.01 Stop

“You have a meeting in the conference room.”

It was all the same every day. As soon as he shut the door and sat in his chair at the head of the table, his day began. Blah, blah, blah. That’s all he ever heard. He just wanted to drown everyone out, the voice of the presenter, the prying eyes of his investors. Jared placed his hand on his forehead and began to gently massage the knot that had formed squarely between his eyes.

“Stop.” His voice echoed throughout the conference room like the voice of a king. All eyes fell expectantly on him as he confidently met the awaiting eyes with his on cool green ones. “Let’s pick this back up after-” he checked the diamond-studded Rolex adorning his tan wrist- “two hours.” The investors hated him for this reason; Jared was unpredictable and often hard to work with. But…they never complained and he knew that they couldn’t, there were always new investors ready to step up to take their place.

Within two minutes the room was empty except for him. Jared stood up and walked to one of the floor-to-ceiling windows that lined the room. Tiny ant-like figures scurried about below for him and he loved it. A smirk formed on his face before the opening of the conference door wiped it away. I thought I told them two hours.

He whorled around and fixed his icy glare on his assistant. He could see the fear in her eyes before she extinguished it completely. “Mr. Matthews, the new assistant applications have been placed on your desk. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“Coffee,” he growled, turning back to the clear blue sky that contrasted his gloomy mood.
He could hear her heels click against the marble floor as she placed the coffee on his place at the table before the door banged shut. Assistants, they never lasted as long as she did. His last assistant only lasted a day before she pissed him off enough to fire her. If his current assistant hadn’t gotten pregnant and decided to take on the life of a stay-at-home-mother and wife then he wouldn’t have to go through this again. What was the use? They wouldn’t last long anyway.

Six hours later and Jared wished he had postponed the meeting until tomorrow. Hours of debating and he had to do it all again the next day. Sometimes he hated being CEO but the money and power made him think otherwise. Being an ordinary man was boring, and he was far from ordinary.
“Mr. Matthews, Ms. Garcia is here.”
Before he could even say “let her in” Daniella was already bursting through his door, a pout plastered on her beautiful tan face. “Why does she insist on announcing me?” The whine in her voice grated on his nerves but he turned around with a smile on his face—unable to make it reach his eyes.

“It’s just for security, Daniella.”
“I know but-“ He hugged her before she could complain again. It was like going through the motions with her. Their love was stale and they both knew it. Their relationship was one of familiarity and nothing else, not even lust. He brought his lips to hers and kissed her, feigning enough passion to put on a show for her.

The doors burst open on their display of affection for his assistant. “Mr. Matthews!”
Jared pulled away from Daniella, “What?” He pushed down the anger he wanted to throw at her because of the urgency in her voice.
“Your brother and his wife are in the hospital. They were in a car accident.”

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